1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a carton and more particularly to a carton having a wall construction providing an easily openable and closeable pour opening.
2. Prior Art
There are many types of cartons in the prior art which are provided with wall structures having openable and closeable pour openings therein. In one type of carton a line of weakening is provided in a side wall spaced from but near the top wall. By inserting a finger or other dull object along the line of weakening an opening in the side wall is created. The top wall is then pulled away from the side wall to form an opening in the container through which the contents of the container may be poured. The problem with this container structure is that the portion of the top separated from the end wall does not always return easily to the closed position to effectively seal the opening.
Another type of prior art carton provides a wall construction in which a pour spout is created by pulling on a tab formed in the wall. One such prior art carton is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,672,557 to Krzyzanowski in which one wall of the carton is constructed of two panels hinged along the centerline to form a V shaped infolded carton wall. A transverse fold line is provided in the wall which permits a portion of the wall to be hinged to form a pour spout. The hinged portion of the wall is secured to the top wall of the container along a line of weakening. When the hinged portion of the wall is pulled outwardly it separates from the top wall of the carton to create an opening through which the contents of the carton may be poured. While this structure eliminates the complex die cutting that is needed to form the panels necessary for the pour spout and the non-standard gluing procedures necessitated by the difficult and unusually shaped panels in many of the prior art cartons the pour spout created by this structure is constricted thereby limiting the amount of contents which can pass therethrough. Further, this construction requires an awkward and unusual manipulation of the carton to permit the contents to be poured from the carton when the pour spout is opened.
Moreover, none of the prior art structures are easily adaptable to cartons which are formed from moldable materials such as polyethelene or polyvinyl chloride.
It is toward the elimination of these and other difficulties that the present invention is directed.